It is becoming increasingly clear that people are rather easy to manipulate, making a joke of the concept and practice of democracy. This is particularly true when actors are able to target individuals and their particular anxieties and aspirations individually using big data, as we have seen with the recent Facebook and Cambridge Analytica issue.

Microsoft has now stepped forward with a program which they say is designed to protect democracy from being hacked in this way. The aim is for governments and technology companies to work together to safeguard the electoral processes.

The move may, however, open Microsoft up to criticism from the right, who have increasingly felt targetted by Fake News initiatives designed to prevent disinformation and who have complained that tech companies have a pervasive left-wing bias.